Most security companies offer an entry-level antivirus program along with a more comprehensive security suite. Quite a few add what I call a "mega-suite" to the product line, with all of the suite's components plus bonus features like backup, system tuneup, and more. Norton 360 (2014) is Symantec's entry in this field, and it's a top-notch product. Note that "(2014)" isn't actually part of the name; Symantec dropped version and year numbers last year.

Norton Internet Security (2014) uses a predominantly grey background, while Norton 360's background is mostly white. Four large buttons represent four major product areas. Behind the security button you'll find all of Norton Internet Security's features. The Identity button relates to Norton's Identity Safe password manager tool. Backup and Tuneup round out the collection; these two are the major features that distinguish Norton 360 from Symantec's other suite.

The user interface as a whole is different from that of Norton Internet Security. You'll find a different layout on the Settings page, for one thing. A bank of checkboxes lets you toggle often-used features; you can click links to dig in for more fine-grained configuration. The new Tasks pane offers easy access to common tasks like launching a scan, running a backup, or invoking one of the tuneup tools.

Symantec's policy is that a valid antivirus test must exercise the whole product, not just one component. They particularly don't approve of static tests that simply launch a scan and note the percentage of samples detected, and they're not willing to allocate resources just to passing tests. Norton came out OK in AV-Test's certification, but didn't pass the latest from AV-Comparatives. For help interpreting the lab results chart below, see How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests.

My own malware removal test is as real-world as they come. I install the antivirus on twelve malware-riddled systems and challenge it to clean up the mess. Getting Norton installed required help from Norton Power Eraser, the Norton Bootable Recovery Tool, as well as a multi-hour remote-control session with tech support. Once in place, it managed a respectable 6.3 points in this test. Of all the products tested using the same malware collection, only AVG Internet Security 2014 and Bitdefender Total Security (2014) scored higher. The article How We Test Malware Removal offers full background on this test.

Symantec's ideal malware blocking test would cover the whole process starting from the fateful moment when the threat first appeared on the system. Indeed, when I tried downloading from known malware-hosting sites Norton blocked them all. It didn't do quite as well with samples that were already present on the system, scoring 8.5 points for malware blocking. AVG and Ad-Aware Pro Security 10.5 share the top score for recent products, 9.4 points. Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2014 and McAfee Internet Security 2014 tied for second place with 9.2 points. For details on the way I perform this test, see How We Test Malware Blocking.

Neil Rubenking served as vice president and president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years when the IBM PC was brand new. He was present at the formation of the Association of Shareware Professionals, and served on its board of directors. In 1986, PC Magazine brought Neil on board to handle the torrent of Turbo Pascal tips submitted by readers. By 1990, he had become PC Magazine's technical editor, and a coast-to-coast telecommuter. His "User to User" column supplied readers with tips...
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